I’m so fucking irritable right now, every little thing is annoying me and my chest is tight, I keep clenching my teeth. I’m very familiar with these things, these are how my body is telling me “go smoke a ciggy”
Problem is, I haven’t done that for a year and a half. I’ve had this happen before, sometimes years on into my quittings, its always random and it’s always insufferable, like I’m a former psychonaut who accidentally cracked his spine 20 years later. Does this happen to anyone else out there? Any tips? I had a glass of wine but it didn’t help take the edge off much
This is an anxiety response, your body is coursing with cortisol, the stress hormone. These exercises should help. I find square breathing to be especially helpful, but everyone’s different. https://www.choosingtherapy.com/anxiety-exercises/
Another thing to consider: nicotine accelerates caffeine metabolism. Therefore, if you are feeling irritable and have recently ingested caffeine (coffee, tea, energy drink, etc.) then you can expect a craving for the antidote.
Think of all those folks who used to hang out at coffee shops, smoking cigarets. Up on the cup of coffee, down on the smoke. Just riding the roller-coaster all day.
I haven’t smoked in 10+ maybe 15+ years, can’t really remember.
I still want a cigarette.
Feel exactly this… Sometimes you just still want one randomly. But 99.999% of the time do not think about it at all anymore
I’ve never done any drug or experience as remotely addicting as nicotine.
Ever done cheese?
You ever suck dick for nicotine?
I’m three years in, still want to smoke.
Glad I don’t, and the cravings from the first bit aren’t as bad, but I still want to.
Yea I’m at least 10 years post quitting properly and I’d fucking kill for a ciggie right now.
Not gonna do it, because of all the many, many reasons that they are fucked up. But still.
I quit well over 15 years ago (after 10 years or so) and I only had cravings for maybe a year or two. After that, smelling smoke just grossed me out. The worst is that I frequently have dreams where I start smoking again and it feels/smells/tastes absolutely horrible and I have to explain to people why I decided to start again. Still a monkey on my back for sure, but at least when I am awake it is the furthest thing from my mind.
Try doing deep breaths. You get the relaxation of inhaling, but no toxic smoke. Avoid the vapes and alcohol. Drink water. Lots!
I quit 24 years ago. And although I don’t have cravings, I sometimes having smoking dreams. So much of it is about breathing to relax.
Also important to cut out caffeine if you are stopping nicotine. And understand that caffeine can be a trigger, nicotine accelerate caffeine metabolism (cuts the edge) which is why the coffee-drinking cigarette smoking trope exists. Caff and Nick are the best of friends.
Funnily enough I’m pretty addicted to caffeine. I’ll get a headache when I miss my 11am or 1pm coffee. But I’m not getting addicted to smoking at all. The pack of tobacco I bought dried up before I could use more than half of it, and that’s with me sharing.
I smoked for 20 years. I beat it by successively taking habits away. I quit twice for a year each time and fell back into it at the bar both times.
The first time I went back, I didn’t smoke in the house. That was big but I really didn’t want my house smelling like that. The second time I didn’t smoke in the car… Also a big one.
Then I vaped and successively brought the levels down. Each time it was really hard but my body adjusted. At my last level (3mg), I had bought some 0 for whenever I wanted to take the plunge, and accidentally switched to it. It felt really light on nicotine, but it was only after 3 days that I realized. I decided that was it and kept vaping 0.
It was surprising how badly my body would react if I didn’t get my fix. I knew there was no nicotine in there, but boy did I get irritable and jittery if I didn’t get my hit. By this time, my first child had been born and I knew I’d have to call it. I was contemplating a date when one night she picked up my device and stuck it in her mouth like she’d seen me do. Threw it all away right then. That was about 7 years ago.
Yea, the smell of cigarette smoke is nice and I can still remember the feeling of that first one in the morning with a coffee. The worst I do now is an occasional cigar, but I make sure it’s never repetitive or a lot.
Quit for 7 years. Didn’t miss it for a second after the first week. Starting again was the worst mistake of my life. Hold fast. You’ll regret it if you go back. Quitting a second time seems much harder.
I do, the longer it’s been the shorter they are (almost 10 years now). My trigger is seeing someone, usually in a TV or movie, take that long, exaggerated drag.
Oooh. That’s a big one. I’ll be fine and suddenly halfway through a movie: “Smoke break?”
Quit coffin nails five years ago after 15 years. Maybe a couple times a month after work I think about how good a cigarette would be right now
Except maybe ten percent of those times I’ll actually bum one from a coworker and it’s never ever ever as good as I imagine it’ll be in the moment. I bum them less and less because it keeps getting harder to pretend it’ll be as good as it used to
So in essence I guess I actually quit pretty effectively overall
I did in the first 3 or so years, but now I don’t have any cravings at all. I’m now 17 years on from quitting and it has gotten better over time.
I found spite a great tool for keeping emotional investment. The tobacco companies are all steeped in slavery, abuse, scientific fraud, and general indifference to the suffering of others. Those companies are trying very hard to get kids addicted, to insulate themselves from legal accountability, and to stop governments from phasing smoking out. They are evil if that word is going to mean anything and if I am going to be able to do anything about them it is withholding my business.
I quit smoking by switching to vape about 12 years ago. I had smoked a pack and a half of Marlboro reds a day for 30 years prior to that. After 30+ years of being hooked on the coffin nails I found a way out and I (and my family) are so grateful.
I still have my nicotine fix, obviously, but I am so much less a slave to it. It used to be that I could not imagine being without a box of Marlboros and a lighter if I was leaving the house. Now, I don’t think twice about heading out for a few hours with no vape (nicotine) with me…it’s just not that important.
I will probably always ingest nicotine in one form or another (vape, gum, patch), as I do caffeine. I no longer feel like I am controlled by it thanks to vaping.
Give alternatives a try.
Vapes actually turned out to be worse for me, something about having the freedom to do it just wherever really shot my nicotine dependance up. Definitely easier on my lungs but oof, glad they work well for you though
I struggle with this and it’s frustrating. That damn ease of fix adds a real detriment to my life in its own way - although I still think even casual smoking is worse.
I hope you can truly resist the temptation if that’s what you want! I am envious of that control.
Almost 3 years after quiting a heavy 26 years habit. I quit cold turkey.
Currently being forced to move having no income and no social circle and family is distant.
Super proud I haven’t broken yet. I want one ALL THE DAMN TIME.
I use physical exercise to help me get through my cravings.
If a random internet stranger’s comment means anything to you… keep it up dude!
I’m one of those people who has never really stopped having cravings. It only gets bad when I’m really stressed but it is low key there 24/7.
Thankfully, it’s only really a battle when I’m stressed.
Hey I just want to share,a thought I had about the nature of stress that has helped me reframe a lot in my life, maybe it’ll help you or somebody else
We know scientifically that stress hormones speed up our aging. So stressing is literally life at 2x. If you’re like me, and 95% of the rest of us, then you have to earn a paycheck/ ,have to sell your labor for finances. If you’re like the 75% of us that’s one missed paycheck, or one t-boning that you’re 100% the victim for but still spend weeks in the hospital just to end up evicted but still like 5 years from any insurance payout (murica), and you’re stressing your bills…does the stressing over a debt to a faceless, soulless corporation lower your interest rate? Will the stressing and mental berating you submit yourself too erase those overdraft fees? If you’re stressing over these kind of ‘faceless’ things you’re literally spending your life double time, but…they don’t accept that kind of currency.
If anything, the time lost to stress is also time thats twice lost because you could’ve been working towards a quickfix if not a perm solution.
All I’m saying, is don’t spend your hours on things that don’t appreciate them. I will never get upset at a phone company or utility or whatever’s behest and torture myself for them. They don’t care about any of us, it’s high time we stopped caring about them too.
Try it out. Refuse to stress for a few days. Does life fall apart then? The biological imperative of the day is to simply survive, if youve done that, you’re already winning. Don’t let the faceless steal your thunder. ✌️
I quit about ten years ago and maybe once a year I’ll get a craving but overall, not really.
Alright so I quit vaping the Easy Way, and they explained to me that nicotine withdrawals are pretty much entirely psychological. It’s the “I want a vape, I can’t have one, AHHHHH!” feeling. Once you realize that you actually don’t want a vape because it does absolutely nothing for you and is complete waste of time, money, and energy, you won’t get irritable because you don’t want to vape. The physical withdrawal symptom- there is just one- is just an empty hungry feeling, and it goes away entirely after about 72 hours.
Sometimes but then I remember the taste and the craving vanishes.
Weird. I loved the taste. Even a decade after I quit for good, I still love the smell. I don’t get the cravings at all though.
